These three Opus 9 trios present a fascinating picture of the young Ludwig, bursting with ideas and an impatient desire to take a musical form born as the baroque trio sonata and breathe bold new Beethovian life into it. But as striking as they are they nevertheless represent a last gasp for a format that would soon be eclipsed by the string quartet. Whatever, it's hard to imagine them better played than in this startling recording by Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola) and Christian Poltéra (cello) who exploit all the brilliantly playful and exhuberant possibilities of these small masterpieces – particularly No 3 in C minor.